Lasting machines



G. J. MARQUIS LASTING MACHINES Jan; 4, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 7, 1963 In vntor Gerard J Marquis By his Attorney a. JJMARQUIS LASTING MACHINES Jan. 4, 1966 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 7, 1963 G. J. MARQUIS LASTI-NG mcnnms Jan. 4, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 7, 1963 I Ill/II llllllli Jan. 4, 1966 G. J. MARQUIS 3,226,745

LAS'IING MACHINES Filed May 7, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 m .1 N? L /20 96 ,AK A39 l "1/ A80. r E

G. J. MARQUIS LASTING MACHINES Jan. 4, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 7, 1963 United States I Patent 3,226,745 LASTING MACHINES Gerard J. Marquis, Arlington, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporation of New Jersey Filed May 7, 1963, Ser. No. 278,577 Claims. (Cl. 12-12) This invention relates generally to machines for lasting shoes and more particularly is directed to the lasting of the forcpart and ball portions of a shoe. In its general organization the machine embodying the invention is similar to that shown in U.S. Patents Nos. 3,022,527, granted February 27, 1962, and 3,082,449, granted March 26, 1963. In some respects the present invention provides improvements to the earlier machines disclosed in said patents but it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the particular organization shown.

Patent No. 3,082,449 discloses a machine having wipers adapted to operate on the ball portion of the shoe bot tom where the substantially flat forepart curves heightwise toward the heel endof the shoe. Such wipers are mounted for lengthwise movement in guideways formed ;in the forepart Wipers of the machine. Such a mounting permits .the ball wipers to be adjusted lengthwise of the shoe according to its size and also causes them to be moved widthwise of the shoe with the closing movements of the forepart wipers. Through a cam arrangement the ball wipers are moved toewardly as they close with the forepart wipers. While this arrangement has performed satisfactorily, the mounting means for the ball wipers is relatively expensive to manufacture. The versatility of the machine is limited since there can be no provision for varying the timing or extent of closing movement of the ball wipers because they must, by their mounting, move with forepart wipers.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the invention to provide a ball wiping mechanism which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which overcome the above objections. According to one feature, the ball wipers are mounted independently of the forepart wipers, on arms which are adapted to swing widthwise of. the machine independently of the action of the forepart wipers. The fulcrums for the arms are spaced outwardly of the shoe being operated upon so that a toeward increment of movement is imparted to the ball wipers during their inward swinging movements without requiring a separate mechanism for this purpose.

According to another feature .the extent of inward movement of the wipers at either or both sides of the shoe may be varied by the operatorby manually settable means. This not only varies the extent of inward move ment of the ball wipers but also acts to vary the extent of their toeward movements. A further feature provides for operation of the ball wipers by fluid operated motors which permit a wide flexibility of control for timing and co-ordination of the operation of the forepart wipers and the ball wipers. V

The above and other features of the invention including novel details of construction and arrangement of parts will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a vertical section extending fore and aft of a machine embodying the present invention;

3,226,745 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 ice FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the positions of various parts after operation of the wiping instrumentalities;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the mounting of one of the ball wipers;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a portion of the machine showing particularly the adjusting means for determining the extent of inward wiping movements of the ball wipers; and,

FIG. 7 is a section on line VII-VII of FIG. 3.

The invention is embodied in a machine for lasting shoes of which a typical example thereof is disclosed in said patents. As illustrated, the machine is provided With a shoe rest 20 which supports the forepart of a shoe comprising an upper and an insole assembled on a last. The machine is also provided with gripper units (not shown) arranged to grip the upper at opposite sides of the forepart and ball regions of the last respectively, Relative heightwise movement between the grippers and the shoe support acts to tension the upper for shaping about the last. After tensioning, the upper is clamped against the last by a toe pad 27. At this time the bottom of the last with the insole assembled thereon is positioned in the same plane as a pair of forepart wipers 26 which are advanced and closed to wipe the tensioned upper inwardly over the edge of the forepart of the insole. The upper surface of each forepart wiper 26 has resting thereon the inner edge of a ball wiper 28 which curves heightwise .toward the heel end of the shoe from the plane of the forepart wiper so that a substantially continuous surface is presented to the shoe bottom to wipe the upper over both the forepart and the ball portions of the shoe bottom. A heel rest 30, which is generally similar in operation to that of the above-mentioned patent, not only provides I support for the shoe against the Wiper advancing and closing forces but also acts as a gage which uses the heel end of the shoe as a reference point relative to which the ball wipers are spaced according to the size of shoe to be operated on.

To position the shoe in the illustrative machine, the bottom of the shoe is placed on the shoe support 20 (FIG. 1) which initially occupies a position below the plane of the wipers 26. The forepart of the shoe is positioned lengthwise relative to the forepart wipers by engagement of the toe end of the last with a distributor plate 31. The distributor plate in addition to positioning the last in the machine also acts to press the outspread upper against the underside of the wipers 26 during the relative movement of the wipers and shoe support to distribute the upper evenly for avoiding undesirable wrinkles. After the shoe is located in the machine, the margin of the upper is gripped by the gripper units and the support 20 is moved heightwise causing the upper to be pulled and tensioned about the last. This action of the support also moves the shoe to aheightwise position where the bottom of theshoe is at or slightly above the plane of the fore-part wipers 26. For this movement the support 20 is carried on the upper end of a post 40 which is mounted for heightwise movement in a bore 42 in a portion of the machine frame. The lower end of the post is fixed to a piston 46 movable in a cylinder 48 against the action of a spring 54 The cylinder is secured to the machine frame and is provided at its lower end with a pipe .52 by which air is admitted to raise the piston and shoe support 20 as above mentioned. The mechanism for operating the shoe support forms no part of the present invention audit is contemplated that the invention would'be equally applicable to other machines where relative heightwise movement between the shoe support and the wipers would be accomplished in a completely different manner or where no such relative movement would be required.

Each of the forepart wipers 26 is detachably secured in a carrier (FIG. 2) which is guided in a well-known manner in a cover plate 68 secured to an upper inclined portion of the machine frame. For advancing and closing the wipers to wipe the margin of the tensioned upper across the edge of the shoe bottom, both carriers 60 are connected by links 70 (FIG. 2) to the opposite ends of a bar 72 secured to the end of a piston rod 74. The other end of the rod is fixed to a piston 76 (FIG. 1) operative in a cylinder 78 fixed to the machine frame. Thus, by admitting air to the cylinder from a pipe 80, the forepart wipers are advanced lengthwise and closed widthwise against the action of a spring 81 in the cylinder.

The ball wipers 28 each comprise a flexible plate 82 (FIG. 5) having an irregular shape substantially as shown. Along its outer edge, the plate is secured by screws 84 to an inclined surface 86 of an arm 88. The surface 86 on the arm 88 and hence also the wiper 82 is inclined away from the inner edge of the wiper 26 at an angle which suits the average lateral curvature of a shoe bottom. Referring especially to FIGS. 5 and 6 it may be seen that the heel end of the ball wiper 82 curves heigh-twise from the upper surface of the wiper 26 so that there is formed a substantially continuous surface adapted to wipe the entire forepart as well as the ball region along one side of the shoe bottom where the substantially fiat forepart curves heightwise toward the heel end of the shoe.

The arm 88 is fulcrumed at 90 on a bracket 92 so that the ball wiper may be swung inwardly to wipe the upper at the ball region under the shoe bottom. The brackets 92 are secured to and extend inwardly from a pair of slides 94 mounted for movement lengthwise of the shoe in guideways 96 formed at opposite sides of the machine in the cover plate 68. Each slide is connected to one end of a fiexible cable 114 by means of a pin 169 on which is mounted a knob 134 (FIG. 7) having an eccentric portion which may be selectively positioned in a slot 116 formed in the slide 94. Each cable 114 is individually conducted through a curved tube 120 and is connected at its other end to the lower arm 122 (FIG. 1) of a lever 124 pivoted at 125 on a bracket 126 fixed to the machine frame. The other arm 128 of the lever is connected by a link 130 to a lug 132 depending from and movable with the mounting for the heel rest 30. The ratio of the relative lengths of the arms 122, 128 is equivalent to the ratio by which the spacing of the ball region from the heel end of the shoe varies according to shoe size. Thus, movement of the heel rest 30 from the position seen in FIG. 2 into engagement with the heel end of the shoe, as seen in FIG. 3, acts to measure the shoe length and to impart a proportional movement through the levers 124 and cables 114, and with the assistance of a pair of springs 129 to the slides 94, to

cause the positions of the ball wipers 28 to be set in r predetermined positions lengthwise of the shoe according to its size.

By reference particularly to FIG. 3 it may be seen that the ball regions at opposite sides of the shoe occupy different positions lengthwise of the shoe with the ball reg-ion at the outside of the shoe always being disposed closer to the heel end. For this reason the ball wipers at opposite sides must be settable one toewar-d from the ball line at the center of the shoe bottom and one heelward thereof. To this end the eccentric portion 110 (FIG. 3) which attaches the cable 114 to the slide 94 may be selectively positioned by the operator in either a forward or rearward position in the slot 116. For this purpose both knobs 134, as seen in FIG. 3, are set in positions in which an L marked on each knob is in an upright rearward position while an R similarly marked on each knob is in an inverted position. These settings indicate that the ball wipers have been adjusted to operate on a left-hand shoe. The relative positions of the ball wipers may be reversed for operating on a right-hand shoe by pulling the knobs 134 heightwise to remove the eccentric portions 110 from the slots 116 and then rotating them 180 so the R markings on the knobs are in upright positions whereupon the knobs are depressed to replace the portions 110 in the slots.

As the forepart wipers 26 are advanced and closed widthwise from the positions seen in FIG. 3 to those seen in FIG. 4 to wipe the upper around the forepart, the ball wipers 28 are also swung widthwise to wipe the upper over the ball regions of the shoe. To this end the arms 88 are provided with hooked shaped extensions 121 (FIG. 2) which are connected by pins 123 to piston rods 131 extending from cylinders 133 fulcrumed at one end on brackets 127 secured to the machine frame. The pins 123 are received in slots 135 in the extensions 121 to permit to the cylinders 133 through a pipe 137 while the wipers 28, to be adjusted lengthwise of the shoe during the size gaging movement of the heel rest 30. Admission of air to the cylinders 133 through a pipe 137 while the wipers 26 are closing also causes the arms 88 to be swung inwardly and carry the ball wipers 28 inwardly under the shoe bottom. Since the fulcrums 90 are spaced outwardly from the shoe the swing of the ball wipers as they are moved inwardly also cause them to partake of a lengthwise movement toward the toe end of the shoe to bed the upper firmly against the slope of the shoe bottom at the ball regions.

To limit the inward wiping movement of the ball wipers each extension 121 is provided with a stop screw 139 (FIGS. 2 and 4) adapted to engage either one side of a stop latch 141 or a surface 143 of a lug 136 (FIG. 5) depending from the associated slide 94. Each latch 141 is pivoted on its slide 94 for movement between two positions, the latch being shown in its inoperative position in FIGS. 5 and 6, out of the path of movement of its associated stop screw 139, so that during its inward movement, the screw engages the surface 143 permitting greater inward movement of the associated ball wiper. Referring to FIG. 4, it may be seen that the latch 141 on the right slide 94 is in the inoperative position as also seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 while the left-hand latch is in operative or downward position where it is engaged by its associated stop screw 139. Thus, as seen in FIG. 4, the latches 141 have been set for a left-hand shoe so that the inside or right ball Wiper 28 is moved inwardly to a greater extent than the left wiper. This causes the right ball wiper to partake of the aforementioned toeward movement for greater bedding effectiveness at the inside ball portion of the shoe bottom.

The side clamps 27 are mounted at opposite sides of the shoe on the ends of piston rods 138 extending inwardly toward the shoe from cylinders secured to lugs 152 also fixed to the slides 94. By such mounting the side clamps 27 follow the lengthwise size adjusting movement of the ball wipers as the heel rest is moved against the heel end of the shoe so that the upper will be clamped properly at the ball regions before being wiped under the shoe bottom. After the upper is tensioned, the clamps are moved inwardly against the upper by admission of air to the cylinders 150 through pipes 154.

The heel rest 30 comprises a flexible strap 156 (FIG. 2) which at opposite ends is secured to a pair of rods 158 carried by brackets 160 in such manner as to provide adjustment of the heel rest to accommodate a variety of shoe styles and sizes. At their lower ends the brackets are secured to a pair of rods 162 which extend rearwardly into the machine in suitable hearings in the frame. The rods 162 are connected for unitary movement by a cross plate 164 (FIG. 1) to which is secured a piston rod 166 extending forwardly from a piston 168 received in a cylinder 170 fixed to the machine frame. Admission of air to the forward end of the cylinder 170 moves the piston 168 rearwardly until the heel rest 30 engages the heel end of the shoe positioned in the machine. This movement of the heel rest acts to measure the shoe length, as above described, to position the ball wipers 28 propertly with respect to the ball region of the shoe. While the present machine uses the heel rest mechanism to gage the length of shoe and set the ball wipers accordingly, it is within the scope of the invention to provide other gaging means for this purpose.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for lasting shoes including ball Wipers adapted to wipe an upper inwardly over the ball regions at opposite sides of a shoe, a pair of slides mounted for movement lengthwise of the shoe, a pair of arms, means mounting one of the ball wipers on each arm, means mounting one of said arms on each of said' slides for swinging movement widthwise of the shoe, gaging means engageable with the heel end of the shoe for measuring its length, means connecting the gage and the slides for differential lengthwise movement proportionally according to the length of the shoe to position the ball wipers for operation at the ball region of the shoe, and power operated means for swinging said arms inwardly of the shoe to cause the ball wipers towipe the upper over the shoe bottom.

2. A shoe lasting machine as described in claim 1 in which said power operated means is etfective to swing said arms after the ball wipers have been positioned.

3. A shoe lasting machine as described in claim 1 in which said power operated means comprise an individual fluid operated motor connected to each arm.

4. A shoe lasting machine as described in claim 3 in which the connections between each of said motors and the associated arm include a lost motion connection permitting initial size positioning of said ball wipers.

5. A shoe lasting machine as described in claim 1 in which individual stops are provided for each arm for limiting the inward wiping movement of the ball wipers, each stop having alternate positions for permitting the associated Wiper to be moved widthwise to a greater or lesser extent depending on the shoe being right or left hand.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,082,449 3/1963 Bowler 12-12 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR LASTING SHOES INCLUDING BALL WIPERS ADAPTED TO WIPE AN UPPER INWARDLY OVER THE BALL REGIONS AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF A SHOE, A PAIR OF SLIDES MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT LENGTHWISE OF THE SHOE, A PAIR OF ARMS, MEANS MOUNTING ONE OF THE BALL WIPERS ON EACH ARM, MEANS MOUNTING ONE OF SAID ARMS ON EACH OF SAID SLIDES FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT WIDTHWISE OF THE SHOE, GAGING MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE HEEL END OF THE SHOE FOR MEASURING ITS LENGTH, MEANS CONNECTING THE GAGE AND THE SLIDES FOR DIFFERENTIAL LENGTHWISE MOVEMENT PROPORTIONALLY ACCORD- 